Denny exclaimed, "That's a really bright flashlight you have there--I can see it all the way from here!," nodding towards the beach from where I came, the distance muffling the crashing waves.

"Ha ha yeah," I chuckled. "It's a special super bright flashlight." I stopped and looked at him. A young man, maybe shaved three or four days ago?, wearing something like a one-piece painter's suit over his whole body, standing next to a mountain-bike with a sporty trailer hitched behind. Hmm. "What are you doing now?"

"Trying to find a place to pitch my tent."

"Oh, what do you normally do for food?"

"I panhandle."

"Where are you from?"

"I've been biking from... you know San Luis Obispo? Around there."

"You biked from all the way there!? Where are you headed?"

"Washington. I'm going to meet up with my mom."

Amazing. Well I was lonely, so, "You wanna get dinner? It's on me.  We can go anywhere you want, or I guess, where you can bike to."

"How 'bout Denny's?  It's right up the street."  Sigh... Denny's.  The absolute middle of the restaurant spectrum.  Oh well.

Denny rode off and I drove to meet up with him a few blocks away. He met me at my car and asks, "Do you smoke?," and makes a gesture putting his fingers to his mouth, and puffing, relaxing his face as if enjoying the ecstasy of peace.

"Ha ha nope..."

So we sat down at a booth next to the window. "You can get anything you want man. It's too bad that they don't serve alcohol here, but you can get anything you want to drink too."

"You know what I feel like? Sometimes you really want breakfast. Yeah, that's what I really want." So that's what he got. Pancakes, eggs, the basic stuff. I ordered one of their fancier burgers. He only wanted water to drink.

Denny asks, "Where are you from?"

"Well, I just moved up here from LA about half a year ago for a job."

"Oh yeah!? I'm from there. I went to school there."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just graduated. Got a degree in GTAW/SMAW welding from Cerritos College. I used to work at a BMW dealership [for 4 years I later verified], but I was through with that. I grew up in Bakersfield. But I'm through with working. I don't want the responsibility." He spoke with a smile, not a glint of regret from his eyes.

"But you don't want a job? You got the degree and all."

"I don't want the responsibility.  I hate responsibility."

"So you just stopped working?"

"Well I got into drugs too.  It was bad, but I went to rehab and I'm fine now."

"What kind?"

"Meth."

"Oh that's really really bad.  That can really f[uck] up your brain."

"Yeah I know.  And I can't read either."

"You can't read?" I don't believe I've ever met a person who I knew couldn't read, as of yet. But he spoke so confidently, so eloquently. He was also quite charming. So surprising. "You married man? Got a girlfriend?"

"I almost got married. She really wanted to get married, but I couldn't. I wanted to, but I couldn't."

"Why?"

"She needed to stop whoring around."

..."What?"

"She kept whoring around."

"You mean as in she slept with too many guys? Or you mean that as a job?"

"Yeah, as a job."

"Oh." He still sat there with a half smile, but straight backed, with a mature confidence, as he has been this whole time. Between infrequent bites of his pancakes, and talking to me, he constantly brought his hands together crossed in front of his plate.

"Hey it's really nice of you to do this you know.  I usually go to the local place where they give out food, but their food gets old.  It's really nice to have a good meal like this."

"Oh it's cool man. I don't have many friends up here, and I like your company."

"No, it's really cool of you. Most places are not nice to people like me."

"Like you?"

"What's the word..."

"Um, traveler..., nomad, gypsy?"

"No, gypsies are bad people man. I knew a few. They take what they want and go."

"I did see a TV show, a reality show, about gypsies. And wow, some of them are really f[uck]ing hot."

"Oh yeah. I know."  As the waitress stops by, "Hey what's another word for homeless?"

She stood there pondering. Then guesses, "transient?"

"Ah yes!!! Transient!," he bursts, staring straight forward, hands folded, smile beaming. I don't think the waitress moved. At all. But then it appeared that her senses returned, and she walked away, looking straight away from our table.

I sat there thinking of what just happened while he shoved a few more pancake bits into his mouth. My mind wandered. "Yeah, it's hard man," I thought out loud. "I really just want to meet someone to go places with, or just watch TV cuddled on the couch, and get married and have kids."

"Stop looking man. Nothing has ever happened for me the way I wanted things to. But things always happen to me when I'm not looking."

"Yeah, I know. But sometimes you gotta have a direction to work towards."

"Look, every time I planned something it went wrong. Nothing has ever happened to me the way I planned. Just the other day I had that feeling."

"That feeling?"

"Yeah, you know," looking deeply, and still smiling, directly into my eyes. "I needed it man. I needed a woman. But it's been a while. Months. I just thought that morning I really needed it. And that night, she came by. We talked and smoked. She asked if we could go somewhere, and I mentioned I had a tent. She was so happy!," and an even greater smile pushed open his already happy face. "She followed me back to my tent, and it was great!!!"

"Wow, do you guys still hang out?"

"No, I dunno where she went after that. Probably back to where she came from, a few cities away. She mentioned she came from out there. I think I might have seen her in some other city, but that's it."

"I see."

"You know, I really needed a smoke. I mean really needed it. But I stopped thinking about it. And I was sitting, and I turned my head, and I saw this sitting on the ledge!" He holds up a small plastic jar about an inch and a half in diameter and maybe four inches tall, opaquely painted purple. He smiles even more.

"No way."

"Yeah I know!"

"What the hell. What are the chances of that?"

"Yeah. Things happen when you're not looking man."

Denny's Face9/27/14
Denny's
Fort Bragg, CA

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Denny's Hands9/27/14
Denny's
Fort Bragg, CA

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

"If I had the mountain's strength
I would conquer the will of nature."

"If I could defy time
I would proudly behold my ageless face and the infinity of my mind."

"If I could never tire
I would not ever waste the day to sleep."

"Hark my bretheren
Behold the soul of the sky."

"Eternal might
Wielding the great light."

"Immortal face
Arms bounding the world."

"The Father of all days
The Mother of all nights."

Sees to EastThe Three Gossips

3-15-14
Arches National Park
Moab, UT

We were running out of gas and it was getting late. So we made the call to leave the park to get gas at the risk of getting to the famous Delicate Arch too late to setup properly for a sunset shot. After swinging around I saw it. There are those moments that all photographers (and wannabes like me) have where you see The Shot in front of you, mesmerizing and calling to you, and you know you MUST get the shot at all costs. So, to the dismay of my friends, I turned the car around again (lucky I was the driver!) and looked for a proper parking spot. Could only find one proper location, but at least I found one, and it was FAR away. I got out and it was crazy windy. Like windy enough to blow over my tripod and camera! Got out a telephoto lens and took 2 brackets, again of 7 shots each. I would have taken more but it was cold and miserable, and I could feel my friends grinding their teeth. So, I packed up and left. ...When I finally got the chance to process these photos some were blurry! I couldn't believe it. I was using a HUGE tripod, one of the sturdiest money could buy, and even then some pictures were blurry!--that's how windy it was! Anyway, thank God one bracket was useable. My favorite shot of the trip.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

See blog entry about this picture: http://pics.xyclopx.com/blog/2014/9/sees-to-east

Also featured @ 500px: http://500px.com/photo/81801591/sees-to-east-by-dean-chiang

And @ deviantArt: http://xyclopx.deviantart.com/art/Sees-to-East-479707734

As all their friends have given to death
After walking the earth

After multi millennia of wind and seasons
As all life has dried away

The Four See to East
Rooted in godliness.

by Dean Chiang

Light and darkness all throughout
Seeing with our reaching souls
Our vision becomes the art beyond thought

by Dean Chiang

Crescendo4th of July, 2014
San Francisco, CA
Golden Gate Bridge

Sounds and rhythm all about
Listen with our beating hearts
Audible becomes music our souls sought
Light and darkness all throughout
Seeing with our reaching souls
Our vision becomes the art beyond thought

Thousands see these rocks each day. Did they find beauty as they walked by?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

Also featured @ 500px: http://500px.com/photo/75853333/crescendo-by-dean-chiang
And @ deviantArt: http://xyclopx.deviantart.com/art/Crescendo-466064471

Please read the blog featuring this photo: http://pics.xyclopx.com/blog/2014/7/golden-gate-bridge-they-see-rocks-i-see-music

Thousands see these rocks from above, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, each day. Some may take note of the curious threesome, seemingly placed purposely, but perhaps their former Zen garden home was washed away. Or some may see a different profound beauty, the kind found most anywhere if one were to just let their eyes rest and their mind wander.

They are rocks, I see music, what do you see?

We Just Like to be Naked4th of July, 2014
San Francisco, CA

"So what's the occasion?"

"We just like to be naked."

--Independence Day.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

Also featured @ 500px: http://500px.com/photo/75967441/independence-day-we-just-like-to-be-naked-by-dean-chiang

Please read the blog featuring this picture: http://pics.xyclopx.com/blog/2014/7/meaning-of-independence-day-found-in-a-photograph

I asked, "So what's the occasion?"

His friend said, "... We just like to be naked."

This article can also be found @ POTN: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1387166

And @ 500px: http://500px.com/Xyclopx/stories/3962783/the-meaning-of-independence-day-found-in-a-photograph

Still... though that spectacular burning sky will remain elusive, I didn't drive no 70+ mi in stop-and-go traffic for nothing!  Point Lobos seemed rather small from the map, with lots of little turn-ins to park and enjoy, and so at the first stop I found I got out an surveyed the area.  It was a large cove before me with the ocean out in the distance with lots of rocks peaking from the water.  Not too bad.  Went back to the car and got my gear and set out to walk around.  Well, after climbing some rock stairs I found a nice seascape in front of me, and this little bird posing...

My Island4-18-14
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Carmel by the Sea, CA

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

I snapped a bunch of pictures of it, but the sky was getting dark so I hopped back into the car and drove down to what I guess is the "point" of Point Lobos.  Got out of the car and started to hike the trail that was right there.  And man, it's pretty!  Walked around and found a few nice spots, setting up my tripod, snapping some pics, then packing it all up moving from scenic place to place.  Then eventually I decided this was where I was going to get "The Shot" of whatever meager sunrise decides to show up.

Taking Pictures of Sunset at Sea Lion Cove4-18-14
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Carmel by the Sea, CA

Apple iPhone 5s

So with my tripod extended and my camera armed, I set off to capture a gazillion images.  Played around with ND filters and such, but I ended up liking the last bracket I took the best, which was without any filter...

Hidden Sunset over Sea Lion Cove4-18-14
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Carmel by the Sea, CA

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

I wanted to capture the shimmering of the water as the weak sunset warmed it from above.  It did look beautiful as I stood there above the bluffs.

By the time I finished packing up from that picture, it was already getting pretty dark, but I thought the place closed 1.5hr after sunset (and I was wrong, but...) so I set off to see if there was anything left worth taking before having to go back.  So I found this place and took some time to get this:

Cove under Dark Skies4-18-14
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Carmel by the Sea, CA

Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC

The original picture was extremely blue with little coloring from the rocks.  I had hoped that some of the earthiness with orange and red tones would come out, but it was far overcome by the blueness of the dark sky and water.  Black and white seemed the only way to go.  Well, anyway, by the time I finished it was already past 8pm and I was worried they would lock me in, so I put on my headlamp and headed back to the car.  It turned out I walked quite far away, so I was starting to get nervous trying to find my car.  And sure enough, as I approached there were blinking red lights.  Oh oh!...  The ranger truck drove over and gave me a little verbal reprimand, starting with "Where you live?  You ever coming back here again?"  I thought carefully about my answer and nodded... turns out they close just half an hour after sunset!--not 1.5hr!  Sigh, I misread.  Well, anyway, I apologized and he followed my car to make sure I went straight for the exit.

Point Lobos was beautiful, and I could tell under the right conditions there would be sublime pictures. But for this lonely and cold night, these were my takeaways... hope you liked!

Dean Chiang 4-18-14, Xyclopx

I had just said goodbye to my old company after working there 9 years.  Before I start my new life after moving up to Northern California, I wanted to take a good road trip.  I convinced my friends Kevin and Anthony to come with me to snowboard 4 days in Colorado, which was totally awesome and a dream come true.  But after the many days of pounding I was ready to take some pictures worthy of this website!  And on Saturday we arrived at Arches National Park.

I've seen pictures of the Delicate Arch before many times, so I knew it was famous.  But after hiking up and up, and arriving sometime around 4:15 PM, I saw before me, in person, the wondrous thing thousands of photographers sought.  Yes, the Arch itself was grand, but the surrounding area amazingly looked like a classic ampitheater, as if to dramatize the Arch on its stage.  I stood there just staring--I had to take a picture that's different from the multitudes of multitudes taken before, something that celebrates not just the Arch but the entire theater, the view, the viewers, and all.

After checking out the scene (and yes, there was quite a scene of everyone from serious hikers, blond hotties, fobs, etc., and of course dorks like me and my friends), I searched for "that shot" which would set my picture apart from the gazillions of others'. I climbed up a rock hill behind where my pack rested, just about centered in the area. Looking down I thought hmm, pretty good view of the Arch and I can see the humongous bowl in front of it and even all the people resting and looking.  Not too bad... a panorama would be perfect.  That would be The Shot!--it would capture the Arch on stage performing for its audience.  Just what I was looking for.  I brought up my tripod and all my gear and setup. That was around 5-5:30 PM.

It was cold. No, F'ING COLD. I dunno exactly how cold it was, but I was wearing a coat, my hiking pants, and hiking boots, and I started to feel numb in my limbs after some time. I was somewhat precariously perched on the ledge with just enough space to stand in front of my tripod. I started to worry that I'd doze off, and with my legs in a semi-frozen state, I'd fall to the floor 20ft below me. That would have been bad as I had just quit my job and didn't have health insurance. Well, I guess assuming I didn't crack my skull and died.

I tried to keep my hands warmer by keeping them in my pockets as I leaned against the rock, but in addition to being super cold, it was super windy too!  I was just leaning there thinking how sucky the whole situation was when bam! a huge gust of wind hit and pushed the tripod over--suddenly my arm came alive and I grabbed the whole thing right before it fell, probably to its doom on the floor below.  After that, every time the wind picked up I took my hands out and held on to the setup.  And over time it got windier and windier, and my exposed hands felt deader and deader.

An hour passed and the sun still was taking its time, sauntering down the horizon. I was somewhat delirious in the cold, only kept sane by the constant reminder that a slip would mean broken bones, $$$, or worse the end of everything. ...7:00 PM. WTF, I thought the sun was gonna set like 6-ish. My friends probably wanted to kill me. It was F'ING COLD.

...hmm, the sky started dimming. Guess it's time to start. Figured I would keep taking shots from now 'till the sun is gone, continuously panning. I set the camera to take brackets of 7, spanning -3 EV to +3 EV. I started with the camera pointed at the Arch and snapped the first 7 images. Then I rotated this way and that, with my camera mounted on a nodal slide of which I never bothered to calibrate--what's a few cm or in or so off right?

Hundreds of images later the sun started to say its goodbye sometime around 7:15 PM. It was then that the scene was suddenly calm. Hikers, hotties, and fobs alike all stood still, cameras and eyes staring...

... and the enclave convened...

Enclave of the ArchThe Delicate Arch at Arches National Park.

7 ~22mp shots per HDR image.
1 33mm HDR image every 15deg.
22 final HDR images stitched for 1 panorama spanning a complete 360deg rotation.
7 * 22 = 154 total images incorporated.

Final resulting image after stitching, editing, cropping:
33469px by 4952px = 165.7mp.
~40-50gb working space used.

For the full original panorama:
http://pics.xyclopx.com/utah/arches-national-park/arches-mar-2014/e31a60d85

For a cropped version showing more detail:
http://pics.xyclopx.com/utah/arches-national-park/arches-mar-2014/e1efe98fc

Enjoy,
Dean Chiang

Through your sleepy eyes

So it seems

Dark are the Skies through Your Sleepy Eyes2-23-2014
Venice Beach, CA

Dark are the skies
Through your sleepy eyes
So it seems
But forever bright
In the light of your mind
Will be your dreams

Dark are the Skies
by Dean Chiang

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM

But forever bright

In the light of your mind

Will be your dreams

by Dean Chiang

Little Children, Do Not Play With FireI turned the corner and walked past him, but I still didn’t see him--took a while for my brain to recognize a man. But when I finally saw, my heart bled through my eyes and nearly died. My steps slowed as the world turned silent, but I could hear my beating heart louder than ever. It gasped between cries. I turned about and found myself before him once more, with an Angel’s moist and unsure hands tightening around my own.

Loving Thy Neighbor #1 of 3#1 of 3 in Love in Darkness.

even during those times that it seems truth is stark, that out of sight,

Loving Thy Neighbor #2 of 3#2 of 3 in Love in Darkness.

even during those times close thy eyes, in thy heart see love is light

Loving Thy Neighbor #3 of 3#3 of 3 in Love in Darkness.

Love in Darkness

by Dean Chiang, Feb. 1, 2014

The Beginning of Dean Chiang PhotographyDawn, before sunrise. Full moon.

Birthed by pure light, for all to enjoy, let this be The Beginning.

Photography by Dean Chiang, Xyclopx.